Log with Ianto: The Proof is in the Pudding

[parked]

Sulu knew that this was one of those Terrible, Horrible, Rotten, No Good ideas that he was occasionally prone to having. He was grounded, after all; inviting Ianto over to prove that he wasn't just making up the things he'd been talking about was kind of pointless if you couldn't get to the car to prove any of it.

Still, he'd heard his parents leave to visit his aunt in Bakersfield, so... why not? It wasn't like they'd notice - he was really good at hiding his tracks. So, he'd invited Ianto out to prove that his universe really was all he'd said it was. It was the least he could do to prove he was seriously as awesome as he made himself out to be, after all. So, he waited in his room for the inevitable worldhopping Ianto Jones, wondering if that was too specific a place but figuring that worldhopping itself was already pretty specific an art.

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[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto grinned. "Glad we're both in agreement on that much, at least," he said, sending the carousel one last look before they started on their way away from it. He nodded down the boardwalk, to an area where the crowd was a lot thicker than it had been so far. Something exciting or popular must be over there. "...what's down there, then?" Ianto asked, automatically drawn to it because whatever it was, it seemed to have the crowd excited.

[parked]

Sulu followed Ianto's gesture with his eyes, shrugging a bit when he saw the tourist-laden crowd. "I dunno - probably a performance of something. There's always someone out here doing something, like street art or music or something." Still, that was probably just the kind of thing Ianto could stand to see, so he nodded in that direction before moving towards the crowd. "C'mon, we can check it out."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto nodded, heading after Sulu in the direction of the crowd. "Performance?" he asked, cocking his head slightly. "Street art? I... What's that, then? Do people normally just set up on the street randomly?" That didn't happen so much on the streets of Newport. He'd seen it sometimes in Cardiff, the times he'd been there, but. In general, people just kind of went about their business. He'd never really hung around any tourist areas before, aside from the Plass, which had only been the once and it had been a school trip anyway, it's not like he could just wander off and check out what all was going on.

[parked]

"Some people do. You know, musicians and those guys who act like statues and stuff." The crowd was pretty thick, and Sulu couldn't help but wonder who the hell was performing that so many people were interested in. "It might be a cultural show too. Like an Orion dance, even though they're usually... uh, not here. You don't see too many of them, after all. But that'd be kind of kickass."

[torchwoodteaboy]

"An Orion dance?" Ianto asked, raising an eyebrow at Sulu curiously. "Orions are...those green women that we saw earlier, right? While we were driving? What's so great about their dancing, then? Are they, like... I dunno, masters of the art, or something?" If they were, that would certainly explain the crowd, after all. Or something. Ianto couldn't remember if he'd seen a crowd like this gather for one single impromptu event in Cardiff before...

[parked]

"Y-eah, you could say that," Sulu said, grinning. "I actually don't know if they're even allowed to do that kind of thing in public." And, okay, he was letting his imagination get the best of him, because chances are it wasn't anything like that, but who could really blame him? He'd never seen Orions dance before, only heard stories, and so of course they became larger than life in his head. Once they reached the crowd, he started gently elbowing his way through, leading the way towards the front. "C'mon, at least we can see what it is."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto nodded, elbowing his own path into the crowd, the people shifting around him. A very tall person stood in front of him and he sighed, inching his way through to the right, getting caught up in what seemed to be almost a tour group until finally he managed to find a spot to see what was going on.

It was a street performance, like Sulu'd suggested. Not an Orion dance (which was slightly sad, because Ianto's curiosity had been peaked), but some sort of alien street magician instead. At least, that's what it appeared to be to Ianto. He wasn't sure what was going on, exactly, how much of it was technology that he just had no idea existed, all that sort of thing. It was impressive though. Ianto could see why it had drawn a crowd. He watched for a good five minutes or so, mesmerized, before turning to comment to Sulu about it...and not finding him. Ianto cast a glance around, his heartbeat speeding up as he realized...he couldn't see the other boy anywhere. And calling out to him was absolutely out of the question.

[parked]

Sulu had gotten to the front after pushing past a family of five, unfortunately unable to do much more than lean around a few Starfleet cadets to catch the apparent show going on. It was a pretty good magic show, all things considered; Sulu knew some of the tricks were pulled off with all sorts of little gadgets, but they were hard to pick out among the ones that looked like real magic.

After a few minutes, Sulu realized that Ianto wasn't saying much of anything; he looked over his shoulder, expecting to see the other absorbed by the magic show - and instead didn't see him at all. Immediately, Sulu's mind went blank save for the thought that he'd lost a 20th century kid in the 23rd century, and he was sure that Starfleet would find out and then where would he be? In jail or something, probably, if he didn't destroy the universe from losing him. He shook his head - need to keep it together - and started moving slowly through the crowd, not thinking to call out for Ianto in case somebody asked him what was going on.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto was all turned around. He didn't know which way he'd eased into the spot he was standing in from, didn't know which way they'd come from to begin with. He didn't know anything other than the fact that he was now effectively alone in a universe that wasn't his own, 200 years or whatever it was in the future, and that he may be hyperventilating a little. He turned to look at the crowd around him, a little desperately, but there were too many people and suddenly he felt very, very claustrophobic. Elbowing his way as quickly as he could, he bee-lined for the nearest edge of the crowd, not stopping once he'd gotten there, but running down the walk until he was well enough away that he could breathe again. Sort of.

He stopped, sinking down against the side of a building, trying desperately to calm himself down, but. Goddamn it, he couldn't even remember what city he was in, let alone how to get back to Sulu's house. He half expected that he was going to forget his English, or that the lack of the other boy with him would be enough to break whatever bubble he'd had and then he'd be stuck in a foreign place with a foreign tongue that no one had ever even heard of before and oh god this was such a mess. He ran his hands through his hair and put his head down on his knees and it was probably only through sheer teenage boy stubbornness that he kept himself from crying or making an even bigger fool of himself than he already was.

[parked]

Sulu pressed through the crowd, attempting to be as methodological as he could be, given the fact that he was having a very internalized sort of panic attack. He was going to be in so much trouble, never mind the fact that he'd broken his punishment. He was going to have to figure something out here. Someone would find Ianto eventually, right? But Ianto had some weird hangups about people and he imagined he wouldn't take too well to a stranger asking him if he needed help. Jeeze, what a mess.

Okay. He shoved down the internal panic and forced himself to think positively - he was going to find Ianto, and they'd go hang out somewhere less crowded, and it wasn't even that big a deal. Ianto was a teenager, it wasn't like he was babysitting a five-year-old or something. He pushed his way out of the crowd once he realized the other wasn't there, trying to decide whether or not to go down the walk the way they'd come or go the way they hadn't gone yet. Nah. He'd go back the way he came; if worse came to worse, Ianto could trace his way back to the restaurant they'd been at. It wasn't like the boardwalk had any real side-streets or anything, after all. He'd just... keep looking. He had plenty of time. He was going to get killed when someone found out how he'd screwed up.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto wasn't sure whether it was the fact that he was a teenager, or whether he was hiding his panic well, or whether no one wanted to bother, but no one stopped to ask him what the matter was, or even seemed to acknowledge that he was there at all. He gave in to a moment of sheer and utter panic, because oh god he was never going to get home and he'd be lost and he couldn't even remember whether Sulu was the other kid's first or last name how the hell was he going to find him again before he swallowed that down. Now was not the time. He was 15 years old, and he was better than that.

So Ianto forced himself to stand up and head back a little way toward the crowd. He figured...he could just stay close to the area, and maybe... Maybe Sulu would find him? He hoped Sulu would find him. And soon. He could only keep this optimism going for so long before he started ultimately freaking out again. Finding a bench nearby, Ianto sank into it, putting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands and forcing himself to remember to breathe. It... It would be okay. He just. He just needed to calm down. ...god, he wished he'd thought to bring his cigarettes along.

[parked]

Sulu slowly made his way up the boardwalk, keeping his eye out for any indication that Ianto was somewhere nearby. If only the other kid would just call for him, he'd be able to pick that weird accent out of the bustle. But of course he wouldn't - that'd probably draw attention, right? And Ianto didn't seem big on attracting attention. So, it was up to Sulu to keep his wits about him.

As he made his way through the light crowds, Sulu caught sight of Ianto sitting on a bench, looking just as panicked as Sulu felt. Heaving a huge sigh of relief, he all but ran to the bench, calling out Ianto's name as he approached.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto nearly leaped out of his skin and up off the bench as he heard someone calling out his name, and a familiar voice at that. Sulu's voice. He whipped his head up, his eyes wide and panicked as he choked down...he wasn't even sure what, possibly hysterical laughter, possibly hysterical sobbing, possible something in the middle of that. Instead he just ended up blinking up at Sulu as he approached, trying to keep his breathing from speeding up too much, glad he was sitting down already as an almost overwhelming sense of relief nearly bowled him over.

"...oh thank god," Ianto said, out loud, because it was really the only thing he could think of saying to accurately cover everything he was feeling in that moment.

[parked]

Sulu came to a stop a foot or two away from Ianto, leaning over as he caught his breath, realizing he'd been practically running to the other and already panicked enough to need to keep his breathing steady. It only took him a moment to get himself together before he grinned at Ianto, his relief showing clearly on his face.

"Jeeze, I was looking all over for you." Which wasn't exactly true, but it was close enough. He wasn't about to show just how worried he'd been, though he did take a moment to throw his arm over Ianto's shoulder after he sat down next to him on the bench. "Probably shouldn'tve gotten wrapped up in that crowd, huh?" He paused, then asked, sincerely, "Are you okay? That kind of freaked me out...."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto let out a laugh that very easily could be misconstrued as a sob, and he wasn't quite sure that it wasn't at least partially one. He shrugged, trying to cover that up. Well, that, and the fact that he'd leaned into Sulu's arm over his shoulder, and that he was so relieved that Sulu was there that he was almost shaking in his seat.

"Yeah, I'm. Well. I'm fine, aren't I? Just got a bit lost, no harm done..." Just a massive bruise to the ego, a slight heart attack, and he probably wouldn't be letting the other boy out of his sight at all, but. That was it. "I hope you can agree with me in saying that I'm really not keen on getting wrapped up in any more crowds, though, yeah? Like you said, it. Well. It more than just kind of freaked me out, honestly..."

[parked]

Sulu let out another sigh and leaned back against the bench fully, going all but limp now that the adrenaline was wearing off. "Yeah, no harm done," Sulu replied, knowing full well that the both of them were pretty freaked out, and probably would be for a while. "But yeah, I think we can definitely go without the crowds. The last thing we need is for me to lose you again and Starfleet to find out or something." He probably shouldn't have said that. "Not that I'm going to let you get lost again, or anything, y'know? Just. You know. Just saying."

[torchwoodteaboy]

"You'd better not," Ianto said, in response to the idea of getting lost again. "With my luck, I can pretty much guarantee you that the first person to find me would be someone from Starfleet and. I don't belong here. I don't have a record. Even if...if I did, I'm 200 years after my own time. I." Ianto swallowed, running a hand through his hair. "That would be the biggest mess ever, so. Please," he said, turning to look at Sulu, some of the panic still there in his eyes though he was trying to hide it very well. "Let's not have anything even remotely similar to that happen again. Alright?"

[parked]

Sulu raised an eyebrow at Ianto's tone, nodding his head slowly. He was freaked out, sure, but he hadn't imagined Ianto would be so much more panicked by what had happened. "Yeah, man, definitely. The last thing either of us needs is to get in trouble with the Federation, anyway. If I'm going to join Starfleet, I really can't break time-space laws. ...If there even are any." Sulu was pretty sure there had to be, but. It wasn't like they could prosecute Ianto, that was for sure. "But don't worry about it. We'll just keep an eye on each other, so it'll be cool."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto had been pretty much convinced in some part of him that he was never going to be found and he was going to be stuck there and get into trouble and locked up for being an illegal because he had no record of ever living anywhere there. Sure, it hadn't been logical, but nothing about panic was very logical after all. Ianto nodded in response to Sulu's reassurances. "Yeah, alright. 'It'll be cool'," he said, repeating the other boy's phrase with a hint of a smile, the words sounding a bit odd in his accent. No more crowds, and no more assuming that the other was going to stick close to him, for the rest of the day, he decided.

[parked]

Sulu laughed and shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Man, don't make fun of me just because I'm American and use way better turns of phrase. You don't see me teasing you for your weird accent," he added in a light tone, grinning because, yeah, it was a weird accent, but it wasn't so bad that it was like... strange or something. Just different. He gave Ianto a pat on the back before moving to stand. "So yeah, do you want to wander around some more? I mean, without the whole losing each other thing."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto took a deep breath, smiling slightly at the fact that they...were okay. Everything was okay. They were joking around about his accent, of all things. "Just be lucky that I'm speaking to you in English," he said. "There aren't that many Welsh-only speakers out there, but there are enough." He moved to join Sulu in standing.

"Right," he said. "Without the whole losing each other thing, more wandering. Need to get a souvenir, and all. Not too many people can get a souvenir from the future of another universe, after all," he said, with a quirked smile.

[parked]

Sulu gave Ianto a curious look as he stood up, definitely in better spirits now that Ianto was joking with him. "What, so you know Welsh too? Well, yeah," he answered his own question, "Right, you use all sorts of weird words. Never mind, dumb question. And you're right," he added, gesturing towards the boardwalk (specifically, at the less crowded side of it), "Not a lot of people get that chance, so we should totally abuse it."

[torchwoodteaboy]

"Totally," Ianto said, quirking a smirk and nodding toward the boardwalk himself. He couldn't help poking a little more fun. It was helping him come down from the panic that he had found himself in minutes earlier, after all. "Seriously, though, yeah. Not a lot of people get this chance. Dunno when I will again, really, so. Let's go."

"And as for your question...yeah. I do speak Welsh. Dwi'n siarad Cymraeg," he added, for an additional flair to his words. "Which...means I speak Welsh. My Tad's kind of got this whole Welsh pride thing going that's a bit ridiculous really, but yeah."

[parked]

Sulu definitely hadn't heard anything like Welsh before, and he was pretty sure his expression proved that. "That's cool, though," he said after a moment, grinning a bit, "I mean, that's something not a lot of people are going to know, right? Like, unless Welsh is all over the place or something." He didn't think it was, if his dad was being ridiculous about it or whatever. "Either way, though, it's cool."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto raised an eyebrow at the other boy, a bit surprised by the fact that he was calling it cool. No one in Wales ever thought much of it. In fact, mostly everyone took the piss about it at school, at least. "...yeah?" he asked, uncertainly. Before he shook himself out of it. "Yeah, well. No. It's not all over the place, and it's certainly not considered very cool where I'm from. But." He shot a glance at the other boy, grinning a little, maybe even flushing slightly (he'd never been good at taking compliments). "...thanks."